Role plays for children - why they are important

Importance of Role-Playing for Children

Role plays - plays in which a baby while playing tries on the behavior, attitudes and actions of the adults around him/her. There is an incredible number of such plays, because the child draws the plots for them from the surrounding reality.

Why role plays are so important for any child

The child is trying to learn how to make contact with others, talk, listen carefully to replies, use facial expressions and gestures in order to convey his/her thoughts and feelings, therefore, such plays are very important.

Role plays are traditional hobbies of every kid. In such plays, the baby is formed as an independent personality. They help the child communicate with peers, learn how to provide aid, show attention, take care of others. The older the kid gets, the longer he/she likes to communicate with peers.

What's good about the role play, what the child gets through the role play, what it can teach:

Transition to a new communication in a playful way

The older the child gets, the more independence he/she shows, the more the plays are changing. The kid´s social circle expands, he/she looks for new acquaintances and friends, learns to perceive new information and transfers his/her own in response. If your baby likes new friends, he/she will show sympathy and play with them with pleasure.

The baby will not be able to play a role-playing game on his/her own, and if the baby does, it will be for a very short time. This happens because the baby is not fully accustomed to the outside world yet. You need to play with your child, this will allow him/her to get the necessary knowledge about adult life and the games of the kid will be full of variety.

What kind of role play games should be arranged at home and how to play them with a child

Starting from the age of five, the plot of the game is already more extended, specific details appear in it, the game itself already lasts for a long time and becomes much more interesting. Kids draw plots for their games from the surrounding reality and all actions in them reflect reality.

Variety of family role plays is entirely dependent on the imagination of parents. You can offer your child a lot of interesting plays. For example:

Build a spaceship;
Play doctor and treat your favorite toys:
Become a chef and cook something delicious;
Play “in the shop”;
Arrange a play house

There are a lot of play options, it all depends only on your desire and imagination. Such games with parents introduce children to situations that occur in everyday reality, help develop their imagination and enable the child to imagine himself/herself as an adult

How much time should be used for playing

All parents know their child perfectly well, so they can immediately notice if the kid gets bored with the play. In this case, it is better to finish the play.

Parents' role in the play

Parents can offer their child to play some game related to real events.Considering that the child has a well-developed tendency to imitation, then by inventing a role-play game, the parents get a unique opportunity to influence the development of child's future inclinations and upbringing.

There are three rules for organizing of role plays that are worth knowing:

You can not force a kid to play;
Child's imagination categorically cannot be kept within any bounds;
Try to think of an interesting development of the play.

The ability to start the role play is very important, it is equally important to stop it or transfer to another plot. Play with your child as much time as he/she wants, you can not refuse, even if you are tired or just get bored with the play.

Try to follow the children's plays, if they play the same game for a long time, and it has no development, you should intervene and help the kid develop the plot. In this way, you will show the kid how to change the situation.

Do not be afraid that children repeat their play. Perhaps they really like it, but most likely they are just consolidating their already acquired knowledge. In this case, it is better not to interfere, let them develop the game themselves, complementing it with a new plot. The child must independently learn how to fantasize and think logically.

Parents only need to watch the play from the side and help in correcting or changing the situation. The main character of the role-playing game should be a child, and an adult should stand in the background, as an assistant, no more.

When an adult needs to intervene in the play

If you notice that the play has become cruel, evil and all the characters are monsters, you need to intervene. Do not immediately rush to your kids and stop the game. First, think about how you explain to them what is good and evil, what is good and what is bad. It is difficult for a small child to understand all of these concepts, especially if he/she has examples from modern cartoons. 

Watch for a while what kind of "monster" your child is playing, perhaps it is not so bad. In such a situation, you can pay attention to what cartoons your child likes and watch them with him/her.

While you watch it you will be able to make some comments about the behavior of cartoon characters and your baby will definitely remember them. If you understand that the child purposely continues to play with violent scenes, talk to him/her, perhaps the baby has accumulated aggression, which needs to be splashed out. In this situation a heart-to-heart talk may help, the child will talk, and the aggression will disappear.

Games that children love to play

Usually role-playing games start with family plots. “Family” play does not need to be taught to the children, they play alone, parents only need to observe and draw conclusions, depending on the plot. 

Watching the play, you will understand how your child assesses the situation in the family, the behavior of family members and the problems that arise. The best decision is to offer the child to play "family" together, where you will take on the role of a child, and the baby will try on the role of the head of the family. Such a play allows you to get closer and the child will be happy that you will obey him/her and do everything the kid says.

Role plays related to professions are very popular with children, especially those whose representatives the kid´s parents are. All children are very fond of building houses. The children cover a table or chairs with a cloth or blankets and this house becomes their fortress, where they feel like full-fledged owners and can choose who to invite.

A role play can tell parents a lot about the feelings and experiences of a child, you just need to follow it, and you will understand everything.

Small conclusions from all of the above:

For the normal development of the child, you need to complicate role play slowly;
Come up with plays that only mom or dad, grandma or grandpa can play with the kid, as well as games for all family members;
Try to make sure there is a competition in the play;
Show your respect and be attentive to your child's play;
Show your child your desire to participate in the play;
Show empathy for your child's feelings;
Plays should be repeated to reinforce your child's skills.

Play with your child, this is the only way you can deepen your relationship and adapt it to adulthood.

You can buy toys for your baby for role plays, and now let's figure out which ones. Toys can be divided into several groups.

A family of dolls (both girls and boys play with them)

The peculiarity of the role play with dolls is that thanks to the dolls, the babies will be able to identify themselves as persons, learn the world of relationships between people and learn how to behave properly in various situations.

Doll accessories

This group of toys includes dollhouses, clothes, dishes, a phone, a watch, various tools and much more. Such accessories give an opportunity for imagination, an attempt to remake something, come up with, and small details will help in the development of fine motor skills.

Figurines of different animals

Many kids like to play with animal figurines, because it is possible with them to repeat in reality the plot of some fairy tale in which the main characters are animals.

Vehicles

The range of vehicles is great - it is a variety of cars, planes, helicopters, ships and more. When choosing these toys, give preference to those in which you can put the driver or something to load, because the opportunity to make a car that meets the storyline of the play, will help in developing creativity, imaginative thinking and intellectual flexibility.

Different materials for any construction

It's no secret that children like to build their own tents, houses, cars, and then home furniture is used. Therefore, it is better to buy a wooden construction kit with large blocks for a child. By building a structure, the child will develop not only fine, but also large motor skills, and get acquainted with the spatial representation.

Various improvised means

Sometimes toys are not needed for the invented plot of an exciting play, it is enough to have some colored rags, smooth pebbles, pine cones or dry twigs. Children's imagination is able to turn these objects into fabulous attributes.

Finger puppet theater

For such role plays you need to buy special sets that will help your child to act out real performances.

Parents know their children best of all, their inclinations and preferences, so they will be able to choose toys that will make all kid´s fantasies come true.